Details for Mini Farming Guide to Fermenting Self-Sufficiency Beer Chee[FasTor]

If you're a jack of all trades, you can't have mastered all of them. That's the case with this book.

This book has five sections, covering: wine, beer, vinegar, cheese, and bread.

The sections on cheese and bread are the weak part, and are rather appropriately hidden at the end. Both sections suffer the same fault: not thorough enough for an absolute beginner, but far too basic for anyone with any knowledge of the subjects. The pictures in those sections don't inspire confidence. The cheese wasn't pressed correctly and is uneven; the bread didn't rise, was badly shaped, and didn't get a good crust. If you haven't mastered the process, you shouldn't write a book trying to teach the craft to others.

That being said, the book is worth purchasing for the first three sections. The author knows his stuff here and takes an interesting and different approach to home brewing; chemistry. I've looked at a dozen or so home brewing books and each is about the same when it comes to explaining the basic process, ingredients, and techniques, and then finishes off with a nice fat recipe section. Where this book shines, and justifies its presence on your bookshelves, is that it teaches you the formulas you need to craft your OWN recipes. Yes, math is required, but it's not scary. Instead of relying on someone else's ingredients list, you can apply his formulas and create something new, confident that at least it will be well balanced. He gives you the tools to try all manners of fruit wines, and really good hand-crafted beers. This book is heavy on explanations and lean on recipes (only 1 wine, and 1 beer recipe), but I don't see that as a flaw; it's the primary reason to buy this book.

The section on vinegar is short but thorough. Home canning books always tell you not to use homemade vinegars, lest you DIE. He allays the paranoia by showing how to test for (and adjust) the acidity of your homemade vinegar to make it safe for canning.

All in all this isn't a stand-alone book on any of the subjects (especially not cheese and bread), but it really is a great addition to your library if you want to create your own home brewing recipes but lack the confidence to do so.

- Angele. Amazon.com

The author explains the process of fermentation from the basis of a College Chemistry Lab. This is the most thorough book I have read to explain the processes and how you can control them. Don''t let the "College Chemistry Lab" scare you if you have never had chemistry. He breaks down chemistry until even a novice can understand the concepts. I give this book my higest rating.

- Jesse Prater